Death by Sock!

For the first time ever I contemplated not starting a second sock. I never get one sock syndrome. Occasionally I might not enjoy knitting socks but finishing a pair is incentive enough to keep going. I was so bored with this pair I wanted to toss it out the window and never see it again. Which would have been a shame as these are for my gran's birthday and I really couldn't afford the time to start again. Plus it is nice sock yarn. It would be a shame to waste it. Even if it is boring the pants off me.

There is actually no reason why I should be bored by it. I normally love a lace pattern. While it isn't a difficult pattern it's certainly more complex than the socks I have finished (and enjoyed knitting) of late.

Mind you, the pattern was difficult to see until you put the sock on (as modelled by my lovely Mother with the tiny feet). It's from The Sock Club by Charlene Schurch and Beth Parrott. The pattern itself is called Rainbow over Lahaina by Adrienne Fong. It works over four rounds which is fairly easy to remember so no need to constantly refer back to the book. I did have to up the needle size from 2.25mm to 2.75mm. I started with the smaller needles but I could tell straight away that it was going to be too small for the yarn. Even then I feel that the sock is a little neat at the ankle and my gran has quite slim feet. My mum is the same and she managed to get them on so it worked out okay in the end. If you are knitting it for an average person I would recommend going up a sock size.

The pattern did have one of my pet peeves and that's making the heel more complicated than it needs to be. I've lost count of the number of times I have forgot to follow the pattern and just did the heel the way I normally do. I wish I had done that with this. If I had the pattern would still have worked out and I would have been left feeling slightly less frustrated. It came down to dividing the stitches and after three attempts I still got it wrong. Of course the fact that I wasn't enjoying knitting them (which was all down to me) would have contributed to that.

Now that they are finished though I am pleased with the way they turned out and I think my gran will like them. The yarn I used was zauberball again by Schoppel. This one is called flowers. Which is funny because friends at my knitting group commented that they reminded them of flowers (hence the garden photograph). It isn't as thick as the crazy zauberball and it does have variances in thickness throughout. It can also get a little fluffy. If you can cope with all that it is a lovely yarn to knit with and does make for lovely socks. I did try to make both socks match. Unlike last time it's my fault. I should have started further on in the pink when casting on the second sock. I don't think it matters though.

If you are thinking of knitting this pattern please don't be put off by me. I was clearly in a mood when knitting these socks.

Lazy Week.

One week off so far and only one lovely day. Which is typical. I did get to spend it in the garden and I cast on a new pair of socks. This yarn has been sitting in my stash for so long I actually forgot I had it. I vaguely remember starting some socks with it when I first got it but it didn't quite show off the pattern. I've chosen a simple lace pattern for it this time. I am knitting it up for my gran whose birthday isn't too far away. The yarn is another zauberball which I like. However, I'm not sure about the pattern I've chosen. I'm sticking with it though as with this particular yarn there is only so many times you can get away with taking it back.

As well as sitting out in my mum's lovely garden I also managed to get myself to my knitting group. First time in a few months. It was nice to catch up with everyone and see what projects are being worked on. If you are interested in seeing our group blog you will find it under Glasgow Fort Stitch N Bitch. I've still to update it mind you so you will only see Helen's posts over the last few weeks who kindly took it over.

There are a few baby showers coming up and I have been working on projects for that. I can't show it though as the recipients might see it. So instead here is some coffee and cake because there has been a lot of coffee and cake.

There has also been library visits where I spotted a yarny book corner. Next to a small shelf of books there are knitted blankets and pillows. Two things I love the most. Yarny goodness and books. Everyone should have a reading nook and blankets to cosy up with.

Other than that I have been very lazy. Mainly curled up reading, sleeping or watching DVDs. I had a few bits and bobs I planned to do and none of it got done. Including some some changes to this blog. I have a few days left though. It will get done.

The Story of the Fraternal Socks.

The socks using the unwanted Easter yarn are now finished. I have been alternating between hating the colour stripes and loving it. I'm still not sure and every time I see them in a different light they change. I do think my sister will love them though and at the end of the day that's what's important. I confess that I do like the spiral pattern on them. I think they highlight the colours.

You will notice that they don't match. I tried and tried to get them to match. I had unwound just about the rest of the ball of yarn before I came to the conclusion that it wasn't going to happen. For a start this very dark orange only appears once in the whole ball. There are other minor differences too which basically make having matching socks impossible. Not something that has bothered me in the past. In fact I have often quite like fraternal socks. It seems though my need for order has journeyed into the sock world. I'm not sure I am happy with that. Maybe I need to stop matching my socks altogether.

Moving away from that and to the yarn itself. I have knitted with Zauberball by Schoppel before and have loved it. I enjoy the colour changes. This is the first time I have used crazy zauberball. You will notice that two colours are twined together though most of the ball. You would think this would cause the yarn to split but it doesn't. It means it's slightly sturdier than the rest of the zauberball range. It's less fluffy and lovely to knit with. I highly recommend it. Plus if you like more subtle colour changes that the tropical fish they do those too.

Easter Socks.

As I mentioned yesterday I managed to get my sister's Easter socks finished after all. All the other things I had planned didn't get done but she at least ended up with two pairs of socks. If you think these socks look awfully tiny it's because they are. I am sure I have said before that my sister has tiny feet. I think these are a little too small although my sister says they fit fine. I personally think they could have been doing with another round of the pattern before I started on the toe.

It's the spiral pattern again. I wanted a pattern but something quick as I really didn't have the time for anything complicated. You would think after knitting everyone sock in this pattern a few Christmas's ago I would bored with it. I still quite like it though. I love even more that I don't need to think about it. At least until I got to the second sock. It was like it knew that I have a deadline. Almost every repeat of the pattern I managed to make a mistake. As a result I was still knitting them the night before I was to hand them over.

This was the yarn I was originally going to knit her socks in. It's called tropical fish in the crazy zauberball range. I thought the colours were crazy enough to suit her. However, I was showing her another pattern for someone else. The socks were knitted up in a fainter version of this and she said she liked the pattern but not the colours. So I used the purples and pinks instead.

I did think the colours were rather familiar as I knitted it up. It's a different brand entirely but does look very similar to the socks I knitted in regia for myself. Clearly I like this colour combination. Sister likes it too which is the main thing.